My Poor Sheltered Children. How Will They Ever Survive in this Cruel World?

Here's the deal. My kids are sheltered. I admit it. And honestly, I'm okay with it. I have no problem with the fact that my 13 year old daughter's TV viewing is limited to Disney and Nick. Honestly, sometimes Nick even pushes my limits. But for the most part, it's all good clean fun, that the entire family can watch together.

That 13 year old, Gracie? Well, she is who she is. She's different. She's a good girl. And she LOVES who she is. She make a look a mess, but she's got it together. If I had a dollar for everytime I recieved a compliment on her from an adult with younger kids, I could send her to Harvard. Younger girls like her because she's not afraid to be a kid and be goofy. She respects them and treats them like people, not annoying younger kids, like most girls her age would (with the exception of her younger sister...who she treats like a doormat).She doesn't wear makeup and has no desire to...in fact, when I make her for a special event, she has a tantrum and I have to pin her down and force her to. She doesn't care too much about her clothes. Tees and jeans are just fine with her. If she's comfortable, she's good. Her hair...well, don't get me started on that kid's hair.

She's special. She's a sweet girl (to others, not so much to me) and she's pretty innocent (some might call her prude). She doesn't use bad language. When we hear songs with the word "hell" or "damn" in it, we either turn it down or yell "HECK" and "DANG" to shelter the other two as much as possible. She has no desire to watch things she knows are inappropriate. She was recently reading the book Wicked and voluntarily stopped because some of the contents made her uncomfortable. She knows a lot about "life"...because I've told her and I continue to keep her informed as I feel necessary. She knows she can come to me and talk about anything...and she does. If you're reading this, and you have kids in school with Gracie, chances are, I know things about your kids you'd never expect. She's an open book.

Today, when I was complimenting her on what great character she had, she started crying and said sometimes she felt like she shouldn't be herself because kids at school made fun of her all the time because she doesn't watch anything rated higher than PG-13 or listen to explicit music, as if that's something to be ashamed of.

I have spent a lot of time with these kids Gracie goes to school with. I know their parents. I also know that a lot of these kids parents would be appalled if they knew how thier kids acted at school towards other kids and what they talked about. Sex seems to be a big topic of conversation. I was told that you can rarely say anything that most of them don't twist into something sexual. And the languange...ugh. I'm not saying I have the cleanest mouth around because I say my share of  colorful words, but the "F" word is one I HATE. It's disgusting. I even hate when people just insinuate it, with "Effing". I hate the expression WTF or LMFAO. All disgusting. I admit to saying freakin' and friggin', but never the real "F" word. Oh no way. Yet, again...it seems to be a favorite among 8th graders. The word and signs that go with it.

I'm curious...how many of you parents of young kids have actually sat down and watched Pretty Little Liars or Secret Life with your kids? Two huge shows that I hear kids talking about all the time and how they're so excited when it comes on. Did you know what in Pretty Little Liars, one of the teen/high school girls was having a sexual relationship with one of her teachers? One girl is a lesbian and had quite the relationship with another girl. They are often drinking and partying, too. And...they're all still in high school...all while dressing like hookers. Great message, don'tcha think?

And what about Secret Life? That circle of friends just keep passing each other around, like a joint. One couple even has a baby and now they're LIVING together...and are still in high school. Now call me crazy, but I just don't see this as a message we need to be sending to our young kids. Just because some of this stuff really happens, doesn't mean our kids need to be watching it. They're brains aren't fully developed and they are so impressionable. They love the way these kids look and interact like adults, all while just being a few years older than them. They feel they can relate to these characters. This is why I like Disney's Good Luck Charlie. Awesome show about a family of 6 where the parents are actually involved in their kids lives and the kids make normal kid mistakes.

Anyway...the moral of this story is: If you have a young, impressionable teen, how about talking to them about kid stuff and encouraging them to stay young as long as they can because, in all honesty, being a grown up isn't always fun, so why would you want to rush it? Oh, and tell your kid to stop making fun of my kid because she has amazing morals and values and has more potential in her pinky finger than most do in their entire body.

That is all....

*I didn't proof this one either...so sue me.*